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 Napoleon II was buried at the Dôme des Invalides, Paris. Picture by Androom (17 Nov 2006) |
Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt |
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BORN 20 Mar 1811, Paris - DIED 22 Jul 1832, Schönbrunn BIRTH NAME Bonaparte, Napoléon François Charles Joseph CAUSE OF DEATH tuberculosis GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Dôme des Invalides |
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Son of Napoleon I Bonaparte and Maria Louise of Austria. As heir apparent he had been given the title King of Rome. He was also known as "L'Aiglon" ("The Baby Eagle"). In 1814, when he was only three years old, his father abdicated in his favour. His mother took him to the Château de Blois, until Napoleon I regained power. But after 100 days he was forced to abdicate again in favour of his son. He was recognized by the parliament as emperor on 22 June 1815, but the Allies ended this situation as soon as they entered Paris on 7 July 1815 and the Bourbons were restored on the throne of France. His mother took little interest in him and on 30 Jun 1815 she gave him over to Count Dietrichstein, who was to take care of his education. This task was assigned to Matthaeus von Collin during the same year. He was taken to Austria where he was called Franz. He lived like a prince but he was also a hostage. In 1818 he received the title Duke of Reichstadt. He was lonely and unhappy at the Austrian court. There he knew Sophia of Bavaria, who was married to the weak archduke Franz Karl. On 21 May 1832 she wrote in a letter to her mother that Franz was sick of tuberculosis and that she was afraid he might die before she would return from giving birth to her child. At the time there was talk that Franz might be the father of the child (Maximilian, who would be the luckless emperor of Mexico in the future). She met him again on 4 July 1832, two days before Maximilan was born and her fears were justified: Franz died on 22 July 1832. There was talk that he was poisoned, but this was never proven. In 1940 Adolf Hitler ordered the transfer of his remains from Vienna to Paris, where he was buried in the lower church of the Dôme des Invalides, not far from his father. His heart and intestines are still at the Ducal Crypt in Vienna. In 1852 Napoleon I's nephew Louis Napoleon came to power in France. He decided that he would be Napoleon III himself and that Reichstadt should be referred to as Napoleon II. Family • Father: Napoleon I Bonaparte • Mother: Marie Louise, Empress of France, Duchess of Parma Related persons • was pupil of Dietrichstein, Moriz Joseph von • was painted by Gérard, François • was a friend of Prokesch von Osten, Anton, Graf von • was a friend of Sophie von Bayern Events |
| 29/3/1814 | Marie-Louise leaves the Tuileries Palace in Paris with her son. They went to the Château de Rambouillet but in fear of the advancing enemy troops they continued to the Château de Blois. [Marie Louise, Empress of France, Duchess of Parma] |
| 23/4/1814 | Marie-Louise and her son leave Rambouillet for exile in Austria [Marie Louise, Empress of France, Duchess of Parma] |
| 30/6/1815 | Marie Louise hands over her son Napoleon II to Count Dietrichstein. Dietrichstein would become responsible for the education of her son. The Austrians forbade him to use the name Napoleon and he received the title Duke of Reichstadt instead. [Marie Louise, Empress of France, Duchess of Parma] |
| 21/9/1822 | The four sergeants of La Rochelle are executed in Paris. They were guillotined in Paris after plotting to overthrow the Bourbon Restoration. They had been hostile to the restoration and belonged to the Charbonnerie, that was modelled to the Carbonari in Italy. Their names were Jean-François Bories, Jean-Joseph Pomier, Marius-Claude Raoulx and Charles Goubin. They wanted Napoleon II on the throne, but there is no evidence that the young Napoleon II endorsed them. |
| 26/1/1831 | Auguste the Marmont meets the Duke of Reichstadt. De Marmont lived in exile in Vienna. It was during an evening of the English ambassador in Vienna. They immediately got along well and De Marmont quickly told Reichstadt all about his life with Napoleon I. After that he gave Reichstadt history lessons for thee months, three days a week. After that they continued to meet until Reichstadt's death in July 1832. |
| 21/5/1832 | Sophie von Bayern predicts Reichstadt's death [Sophie von Bayern] |
| 4/7/1832 | Last meeting between Sophie von Bayern and Reichstadt. Two days later Sophia's son Maximilian was born. Reichadt, also known as Napoleon II, died on July 22th. He and sophia had been close friends and possible they had been lovers. [Sophie von Bayern] |
| 7/11/1852 | The Duke of Reichstadt is to be called Napoleon II. This was decided by the future Napoleon III beause Napoleon I had abdicated in favour of his son, who had therefore been emperor for a few days. [Napoleon III Bonaparte] |
| 15/12/1940 | Adolf Hitler orders the remains of Napoleon II to be transferred from Vienna to Paris. The remains were transferred to the Dôme des Invalides. In December 1969 they were moved underground to the cella of Napoleon's tomb. His heart and intestines remained in Vienna and his heart is in Urn 42 of the Herzgruft in the Hofburg and his viscera are in Unrn 76 of the Dual Crypt beneath the chancel of the Stephansdom. |
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Napoleon II was buried at the Dôme des Invalides, Paris. Picture by Androom (17 Nov 2006) |
Sources • Haslip, Joan, Imperial Adventurer: Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, and his Empress, Cardinal, London, 1974 • Point de Vue (Images du Monde), Point de Vue, Créteil • Thompson, J.M., Louis Napoleon and the Second Empire, Norton, New York, 1967 • Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909 • Four Sergeants of La Rochelle - Wikipedia (EN) • Napoleon II - Wikipedia (EN) • Auguste Frédéric Viesse de Marmont - Wikipédia (FR) |
